Identifying and Boosting 'Gazelles': Evidence from Business Accelerators

67 Pages Posted: 11 Nov 2019

See all articles by Juanita Gonzalez-Uribe

Juanita Gonzalez-Uribe

London School of Economics & Political Science (LSE) - Department of Finance

Santiago Reyes

Inter-American Development Bank

Date Written: August 1, 2019

Abstract

Why is high-growth entrepreneurship scarce in developing countries? Does this scarcity reflect optimal allocations, or constraints? We explore these questions using as laboratory an accelerator in Colombia that selects participants using scores from randomly assigned judges and offers them training, customized advice, and visibility, but no cash. Exploiting exogenous differences in judges’ scoring generosity, we show that alleviating constraints to firm capabilities increases average high-growth by unlocking innovative-entrepreneurs’ potential, rather than by transforming low-quality ideas. Results demonstrate that some high-potential entrepreneurs in developing economies face firm capabilities constraints, and that accelerators can help identify these entrepreneurs and boost their growth.

Keywords: High-Growth Entrepreneurship, Business Accelerators, Young Firms, Firm Capabilities

JEL Classification: G24, L26, M13

Suggested Citation

Gonzalez-Uribe, Juanita and Reyes, Santiago, Identifying and Boosting 'Gazelles': Evidence from Business Accelerators (August 1, 2019). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3478290 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3478290

Juanita Gonzalez-Uribe (Contact Author)

London School of Economics & Political Science (LSE) - Department of Finance ( email )

United Kingdom
+442074057686 (Phone)

Santiago Reyes

Inter-American Development Bank ( email )

1300 New York Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20577
United States

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